Last Friday, for example, they demonstrated in Jozsefvaros in front of the Szechenyi Istvan Gimnazium, while on Sunday they held a demonstration in Keszthely. In both cases, they claimed to be acting to preserve public order, though the speeches were primarily anti-gypsy in content.

© Fazekas István

The Garda continues to recruit new members. The application form asks for details including height, weight and civil status - but it does not ask applicants about any criminal records. HVG has learned that both rank-and-file members and more senior leaders have prior convictions - even if some of these are far enough in the past that the people concerned are under no obligation to disclose them. But the Garda, at least in theory, imposes stricter standards on its members than the law does. Its code of honour demands strength, bravery and discipline of its members, but also honesty and cleanliness - and threatens to exclude members who prove unworthy of the honour. Csanad Szegedi, the group's founder and vice-president of the Movement for a Better Hungary, told MTI last week that, though the application procedure was meant to exclude those with criminal records, there was no formal investigation process.

This may explain how it was that Istvan Herman was elected commander of the Fejer county branch. He has been convicted on six occasions since the 1980s, most recently in 2002. Most of his crimes are economic (bribery, bankruptcy, lack of due diligence), but he received a suspended prison sentence for grievous bodily harm and a fine for breach of the peace. Herman, who is 53 years old, is a fencing trainer, and his company Herman Box promotion Bt, puts on fencing tournaments. He posted an obituary on the organisation's website for a recently deceased 42-year-old man. This "comrade-in-arms" and "brother in nationhood" had been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for rape, indecency and defilement.

© Stiller Ákos

Peter Dolgos, the 41-year-old Zala county commander, received seven convictions - most recently in 2005 - for violence against a public official, minor bodily harm and drunk driving. Another member, a 34-year-old from Bekes county, has been convicted eight times between

1999 and 2002, for crimes including theft and breaking and entering.

Another man, a 44 year old, runs a security company in Szolnok, and has convictions for tax fraud, grievous bodily harm, hooliganism and vandalism. A Gardista from Oroshaza received a suspended sentence for membership in an armed gang.

This is striking given the Magyar Garda's claim that it stands for public order. "The Magyar Garda will be the gendarmerie of the 21st century," said Szegedi in his speech in Keszthely. It seems that this was taken as a provocation by the public prosecutor, which regards the aspiration as a challenge to the functioning of a state based on the rule of law. The prosecutor also points out that the Garda's open anti-gypsy sentiment is in violation of the Constitution and numerous international agreements.